The American Dream
by CreativityMichaelson
Summary: Sequel to The Heart's Want: Life is getting more difficult, and hope and dreams are being crushed, all Beth wants is to live Her American Dream with Daryl, but can that really happen? Daryl/Beth


_**A/N: And I'm back, just like that with the sequel This will be the end of The Heart's Want, so if you haven't read The Heart's want I recommend you read it, however, a few friends have told me that you can read this as well and get by smoothly. Happy Readings. **_

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Winter passed successfully, and by that time the group was back on the move for a better more stable home. Things had gotten more stable or as stable as life could get with a bunch of dead persons walking around among them. The group was better suited to say the least. Lori's pregnancy was giving the group hope that there was a chance to come back from this mess and Rick was doing the mending needed to fix his relationship with her. Glenn and Maggie were talking about their view on perhaps having a baby and when would be a good time for them to have one if ever. Carol was always with Hershel learning doctoral traits to be of help with Lori's delivery, as well as to preoccupy her time so she was constantly bothering Daryl with her affection. No matter what he said, she honestly believed that Daryl would get bored of Beth and come back for her. She would gladly take him back in her life. However, Daryl was as happy as he could be with Beth.

"Stop it." Beth laughed moving her bare foot away from Daryl's lap as well as his tickling fingers only to return back to her book. He smirked but did as he was told as he began to feather new arrows that he and Beth would be needing. She had gotten pretty good at her aim and shoot. Probably a 75% shot rate now but he was sure that had to do with the heaviness of the bow he had made, so he planned on making a new one for her.

"Why don't you read that to me…." Daryl suggested.

Beth looked up over her book to him and smiled, "It's a odd book Dar… Are you sure you want that?" She asked him.

"Yeah, anything beats silence." He said tickling her leg with a feather sending her away from him even more.

She smiled getting up and moving so she was back to back with him.

"Dear Kitty, My head throbs, I honestly don't know where to begin. On Friday (Good Friday) we played Monopoly, Saturday afternoon too. These days passed quickly and uneventfully. On Sunday afternoon, on my invitation, Peter

came to my room at half past four, at a quarter past five we went to the front attic, where we remained until six o'clock. There was a beautiful Mozart concert on the radio from six until a quarter past seven. I enjoyed it all very much, but especially the "Kleine Nachtmusik." I can hardly listen in the room because I'm always so inwardly stirred

when I hear lovely music." Beth reads to him, and Daryl gets lost in the sound of her voice for a while as his head fills with questions, like- What's Kleine Nachtmucik? Whose Kitty? Whose the writer? What's going on?

It wasn't until she started talking about something of relative interest that he stated to pay attention to the words she was really saying.

"Four frightened women just have to talk, so talk we did, until we heard a bang downstairs. After that all was quiet, the clock struck a quarter to ten. The color had vanished from our faces, we were still quiet, although we were afraid. Where could the men be? What was that bang? Would they be fighting the burglars? Ten o'clock, footsteps on the stairs: Daddy, white and nervous, entered, followed by Mr. Van Daan. "Lights out, creep upstairs, we expect the police in the house!" There was no time to be frightened: the lights went out, I quickly grabbed a jacket, and we were upstairs. "What has happened? Tell us quickly!" There was no one to tell us, the men having disappeared downstairs again. Only at ten past ten did they reappear; two kept watch at Peter's open window, the door to the landing was closed, the swinging cupboard shut. We hung a jersey round the night light, and after that they told us: Peter heard two loud bangs on the landing, ran downstairs, and saw there was a large plank out of the left half of the door. He dashed upstairs, warned the "Home Guard" of the family, and the four of them proceeded downstairs. When they entered the warehouse, the burglars were in the act of enlarging the hole. Without further thought Van Daan shouted: 'Police.'"

Daryl sighed looking back at her. "What the hell are you reading to me? I'm so lost and confused." He told her and Beth merely giggled shaking her head at him as she turned around to him.

"This is the Diary of Anne Frank. She documented two years of the holocaust or really what she had been through in order to stay hidden and avoid the camps, and she was only thirteen when she started writing this." She told him, and looked at the arrows he was making. "Are those mine?" She asked.

"Hey… That was a rotten summary." He teased hiding the arrows from her.

Beth groaned, and gave him a better description of the book only to be interrupted by Rick as she was about to reveal the fate of the two families.

"Daryl, I need your help moving something." Rick said looking at Beth and then to Daryl with a smile.

"To be continued…" Beth whispered giving him a kiss as she moved so he could get up, but Daryl didn't want to know. He wanted to know what would happen to the Franks and Van Daans. It… It left an aching feeling in his being to hear the story and know that they were in a pretty similar situation. Maybe if there had been hope for them, there was hope for him and the group as well? He thought.

"Your not going to tell me?" Daryl gaped looking at Beth upset with the news that she wouldn't be giving away the ending of the book to him.

"If you want to know so bad, read it silly." She said as she hammered the spikes for their tent and then pushed their sleeping bags inside. She glanced at him, and saw the look of disappointment on his face, and gave him a smile. "It's motivation to get to the end of the book." She teased him before rolling inside shortly followed after by Daryl who wanted to know the end of the book without having to read it. She had already told him everything why not the ending.

Beth laughed looking up at Daryl as her crawled in the small space to her, situating himself just over her.

"That's not very nice. I mean… I guess I could just read the ending." Daryl suggested before rolling over on to his side next to her and look up to the tent ceiling. When would he find the time to read that though? He thought for a moment.

Beth frowned looking to Daryl and rested her head on his chest. "Daryl what were you before all of this?"

"What you mean?" he asked puzzled glancing to her blonde hair and placed a kiss on top of her head.

"As in… what kind of job did you have? Rick was a cop… Daddy was a vet… Lori a simple housewife… What were you?" She asked.

Daryl smirked. "I'll tell you if you tell me the end of that book."

Carol looked around the camp area, with a smile as she thought about how far she had come. She was stronger that was for sure. She thought and began to take a small walk around the small camp to tire herself. She had lost her husband and earned a friend to show her that there was more to life then just sitting ideal to let people do as they wanted to others. She was a woman that deserved to treated fairly and like a human being. She was a mother. Was… Maybe she could be a mother again… With Daryl… The thought put butterflies in her stomach. God she knew he would come back for her.

God but that would have to wait so that he would come to her. She just had to wait-

Carol froze. Glancing around, she heard it again the snapping of breaking twigs and she felt her heart jump when her hand went to her side and realize she didn't have a knife or gun at her hip like she always did. She took a step back and began to turn around to run back to her tent when hands grabbed at her and teeth sank into her chest. There went her hope, and her fantasies. There would never be another time to be a mother again with or without Daryl…The pain… It was excruciating.

A piercing scream rang in the air sending Daryl, and Rick out of their tents to see Carol being attacked by the one walker and then by another from behind. It was as if all the world had stopped. Carol… She… Daryl felt cold all of a sudden. What the hell was happening? He thought as more walkers came out of the trees.

There was… a walker attack but how and Carol…

He rushed in like a fool to the ahead and started stabbing walkers in the head with Rick behind him. However it was too late, Carol was dead from the attack and would be turning at any point as well as more walkers were starting to appear. "Daryl… Daryl!" Rick called out to him pulling him out of his head.

"Get everyone read to leave. Now Daryl. I'll take care of Carol…." He promised Daryl, but how could Daryl ask him to do that. Carol was his friend, not Ricks. Rick was just the self appointed leader. He glared at the man, before moving his hand to stab Carol in the head with a tears building in his eyes. How was he going to live with himself? He thought as Rick picked him up.

Daryl stumbled for his footing before he walked to the tent and told Beth to grab as much as she could and get on the bike. Beth was confused, but she had too heard the scream what did that leave them with she thought? Was someone attacked? What was wrong?

Beth grabbed their weapons from inside the tent as her father and sister came to make sure she was alright when she saw Carol's body. Oh God… She thought looking at her lifeless body, and covered her mouth. Carol had….

It was then that Beth's mind went to the ending of The Dairy of Anne Frank, and out went her hope for a new and better American Dream to live.


End file.
